“Do we really think this is a good idea?” I asked Lizzie as we wandered aimlessly through the lingerie section of the department store after school, after inviting ourselves along on our other bestie’s mother-and-daughter shopping trip.
“Yes, we really do.”
“And Jamie really said all those nice things about me.”
“Hand on my heart.”
“I don’t know, Liz.” I shrugged helplessly. “Maybe I should cancel.”
“Well, I do, Claire. I know, and I am so proud of you,” Lizzie praised, linking arms with me. “Seriously, you’re doing the right thing here and no way in hell are you cancelling.”
“But it’s so soon,” I groaned. “He’s supposed to be picking me up at eight o’clock tonight.”
“Good,” Lizzie encouraged. “The sooner the better.”
“How’d you figure?”
“Because the longer you’re left to your own devices, the more you’ll try to talk yourself out of it.”
“And you really think going to the cinema with Jamie is a good idea?”
“Yes, Claire, I really do.”
“Okay,” I replied, chewing on my bottom lip, as I tried to battle with the wave of doubt cresting like a tidal wave inside of my belly, “let’s hope so.”
“Hope has nothing to do with it in this instance,” my friend assured me. “He’s been wasting your time for years now. It’s time to move on and stop waiting for Thor to throw you a bone.”
“Ouch, Liz.” I winced. “Tone down the bitchiness, will you?”
“Sorry,” she conceded with a shrug. “It’s not directed towards you, I promise.”
“I know,” I replied. But it still hurts. “He’s a good person.”
Silence.
“He is, Lizzie.”
More silence.
Resigned, I exhaled a heavy sigh and snatched a random pair of fancy knickers off the rail in front of me. “Oh look, what every girl needs in her wardrobe,” I grimaced. “Crotchless knickers.”
“Maybe we should slip them into Shannon’s basket,” Lizzie joked, pointing to where Shannon was browsing the Halloween section with her foster mam. “And see what Mrs. Kavanagh says when they ring up their stuff at the till.”
“Can you imagine?” I snickered. “She would blow a head gasket.”
“I know. I would pay good money to see it.”
“They look kind of nice, though.”
“What?”
“These crotchless knickers.”
“Oh my God, Claire,” Lizzie laughed. “Put down the knickers and step away from the rail.”
When I turned back, I spotted Shannon and Edel at the counter paying. Edel had her arm wrapped around my friend’s shoulder as Shannon showed her something on her phone.
“Can you imagine having to live with your boyfriend’s mam?”
“I think it’s perfect for Shan,” Lizzie replied.
“Me, too,” I agreed, still smiling. “She needs the stability.”
“And Captain Fantastic is nothing if he’s not stable.”
“True,” I agreed, watching my bestie embrace her foster mam with a side hug. Laden down with shopping bags, Edel Kavanagh pressed a kiss to Shannon’s head and smiled dotingly at her.
She would be okay.
I didn’t need any other validation.
Shannon had been born to be a Kavanagh.
“Are you serious?” I asked later during dinner, completely engrossed in the story Edel Kavanagh was telling us. “You really lived with Daddy K when you were a teenager?”
“I sure did, love.”
“So, it’s like history repeating itself,” I mused, popping another spoonful of ice-cream into my mouth. “You and John Sr. Shannon and Johnny.” I sighed dreamily. “It’s like fate.”
“Or bad parenting,” Lizzie muttered under her breath.
“Liz!” I elbowed her. “Filter.”
Surprisingly, Edel laughed at our fiery friend’s cutting one-liner. “You’re a difficult one to know, Elizabeth Young, aren’t you?” She smiled indulgently at her. “With all those hard outer layers.”
Lizzie blushed and offered our host a small smile. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, love,” Edel replied. “A woman should always have a bit of edge about her.”
“Not this woman,” I chimed in, gesturing to myself. “I’m a glorified circle.”
“Oh, Claire.”
“You’re so weird,” Lizzie chuckled, shaking her head. “I swear, she’s been like this since junior infants.”
“It’s true,” Shannon added, returning from the bathroom to take her seat next to Edel. “Claire’s our personal pocket of sunshine.”
Edel spent the rest of our meal fussing over the three of us before going to the counter to pay the bill.
“Can I have her?” Lizzie asked, when she was out of earshot.
“Nope,” Shannon shot back with a chuckle.
“Then can we share?”
“Nope.” Shannon smiled proudly. “She’s all mine.”
“So, ladies, what’s the plan for the midterm,” Edel asked, returning to the table to fetch her handbag and coat. “Any exciting plans lined up for your week off school?”
“My mam’s throwing a party for Hugh next weekend for his eighteenth,” I heard myself say, falling into step beside the three of them as they left the restaurant.
“Oh? That’s sounds smashing, love.”
“His birthday is on Halloween.”
“Oh, same as Seany,” Edel mused. “Can you believe he’s turning four?”
“No,” Shannon answered with a small shake of her head, as she linked arms with Edel. “I can still remember when he came home from the hospital.” Smiling sadly, she added, “I swear Joe didn’t sleep for the first three months.”
“Are you having a party for him?” I asked, desperate to keep the tone light. “Seany, I mean?”
“Do bears shit in the woods?” Edel replied with a laugh. “Of course we are. John has the bouncy castle ordered.”
“He’s getting a clown, too,” Shannon interjected.
“A clown?” My eyes widened. “Can I come?”
“Claire!” Lizzie laughed, slapping my arm. “You can’t just invite yourself like that.”
“Oh, please.” I rolled my eyes. “Like we didn’t already invite ourselves to a free dinner.”
“Still, though.”
“Of course you can come, love,” Edel replied. “You’re all more than welcome. It’s on at three o’clock next Saturday, so it won’t interfere with Hugh’s party later that night.”
“Yay!” I clapped with excitement. “Gerard had a clown once. I think it was his sixth birthday.” I smiled at the memory. “I’ve always wanted to see one again.”
“You see one every day,” Lizzie tossed out with a smirk. “You live across the street from one.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Ha-ha.”
